She is proposing to allow crossbow hunting without a special permit, Sunday hunting with archery, and reducing archery hunting set backs (safety zones). Currently we have not seen any legislation filed from her office on the proposals, nor has she publicly announced support for existing bills already in the pipeline.

Looking at the work of the Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J21 there is definitely some mixed messaging.

Beginning in February of 2026, the Committee has sent numerous pro-hunting bills to study. This normally means certain death for any proposed legislation. Among bills that were sent to their doom include Sunday hunting, archery hunting on Sunday, and even GOAL’s omnibus hunting bill – the Outdoor Heritage bill.

Oddly enough, two bills regarding hunting with crossbows are still on life support. S595 and S577 were both sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee in November of 2025. In the last decade or so Ways and Means has been the clearing house for any legislation that may move forward.

There are currently two likely scenarios. One is that the governor and the legislature may use the two crossbow bills as a means to move Healey’s proposals. The second, and more likely, is that Healey will put her hunting measures in a spending bill which she has alluded to.

We will have to see what comes out, but we will also have to be very aware of what it is attached to – a potential poison pill.

Crossbow BillS:

S.595 An Act relative to the use of crossbows in hunting: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S595

S.577 An Act relative to the use of crossbows in hunting: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S577

Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources

March 30, 2026 Study Order: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5307

H. 1075 An Act relative to the use of shotgun ammunition for hunting: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1075

H.1057 An Act authorizing deer hunting on Sunday: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1057

H.1065 An Act relative to outdoor heritage: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1065

February 26, 2026 Study Order: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5149

H.1016 An Act relative to hunting on Sunday: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1016

H.993 An Act permitting bow hunting on Sunday: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H993

H.1010 An Act relative to the use of shotguns: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1010